Perhaps you’re considering buying a house that you love everything about… except the boring slab of a floor in the basement. Or you’re looking for a way to spruce up your own concrete floor. Or you’ve read about how (surprisingly) environmentally friendly these floors are and want to do your part… without sacrificing aesthetic beauty.
Whatever your reasons, staining a concrete floor is a great way to update its look. And regardless of whether you’re thinking about handling the project yourself or bringing in a professional to do it for you, understanding the process is vital to making sure that the job is done right.
Clean it first, clean it right
Professionals recommend using a concrete degreaser to clean off the floor before beginning the staining process. This is because applying the stain before you clean will make any cracks or discolorations stand out more. If you do use a professional, chances are good that they will bring in a buffer for the job.
Fix issues… or don’t
At this point, you have a decision to make if the floor has issues that are significant enough to be noticed. You can have them fixed before applying the stain so that the floor will be smooth and seamless. Or you can leave things as they are to give your floor more of a personality. There’s no right or wrong choice, and it’s entirely up to you.
Pick a stain, any stain
Another step, another choice. There are two kinds of stains: acid and acrylic. Most contractors recommend acid stains because they hide imperfections better, but this won’t matter if you want to emphasize them or they’re just not noticeable. Acid also has fewer color choices than acrylic, isn’t as safe, and doesn’t hold up as well under extreme weather conditions, so there are definitely some things to think about before you make a decision.
Go for staining
After you’ve decided on a stain, test it out on a small, less noticeable part of the floor to make sure that you actually like what it looks like after it dries. If you’re still happy, you’ll probably want to get mops, rollers, squeegees, or a pump sprayer to do the actual staining. This is the part of the process where it’s most important to have a professional – or at least someone with professional knowledge – helping you. Obviously, it’s not required, but using a professional will make it much more likely that the stain will be applied so that it doesn’t leave streaks or color marks where you don’t want them.
Make it safe
Did you go with an acid stain? If so, this is the point where you have an extra step to take care of. What is it? Neutralizing the acid. Because, you know, it’s actually made of acid, so you can’t just have that lying around. Contractors use a special mixture of one part ammonia and four parts water and will usually use a pump sprayer to douse the floor, and then dry up any excess liquid before beginning the next stage.
Protect it
The final part of the job is to seal your concrete floor so that it will last longer and you won’t have to worry about things like dust. How is this done? First, a densifier is used to penetrate down into the concrete. This decreases permeability while increasing the floor’s resistance to abrasions by about 400 percent. After this, a stain guard should be used to make your floor shinier and protect it from stains.
Want to learn more? Check out KSI Kitchens’ concrete-staining guide on their blog.
